


Dear god, how did I never notice?

by j_obsessed



Category: Cricket RPF
Genre: Dorks in Love, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Idiots in Love, Kissing, Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Pure, Romantic Friendship, Sweet, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:53:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26508523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/j_obsessed/pseuds/j_obsessed
Summary: it's pure as FUCK. based on the little tumblr thing about a sushi roll-1. Lay blanket out2. Pick up sad person3. Lay sad person in blanket4. Roll them like a sushi5. Place sad roll on bed/couch/comfy place6. Hug roll close7. Put on rolls favorite movies8. Feed roll snacks9. Make sure roll is well hydrated. Tears make roll dehydrated10. Happy lil’ sushi roll
Relationships: Jos Buttler/Joe Root
Comments: 23
Kudos: 19





	Dear god, how did I never notice?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Peggo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peggo/gifts).
  * Inspired by [If it's not Jos Buttler, I don't want him. (Apparently.)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26172997) by [j_obsessed](https://archiveofourown.org/users/j_obsessed/pseuds/j_obsessed). 



> so, this is for my dear darling pegs, and is an alternate ending to If it's Not Jos- but it's the sfw version 🥺🥰  
> lots of fluff and jos looking after joe, like joe looked after jos, because they're in love and gorgeous and i love them and they're in love thank you goodbye

Joe walks in, and Jos’ heart is immediately in his throat. The younger looks distraught. Dishevelled and sad and upset and all the things that Jos never wants Joe to feel because when the young test captain is in pain, Jos can feel it too.

It’s bad. Something’s happened, and very clearly, it’s not good at all.

Jos’ heart screams, because Joe only walks over to the couch and lays down, emotionless and unmoving. He hasn’t even said hello, and the keeper isn’t actually sure if Joe’s even noticed that he’s present. There’s a distinct air of disappointment, and maybe even some heartbreak, and all Jos wants to do is comfort his best friend, and just _love him._ But, he knows, he knows that he’s not the one Joe wants.

Jos doesn’t know what the fuck to do. If he tries to console Joe, he’s going to end up letting his tongue slip- and it’s going to hurt his heart. But if he doesn’t, well, he’s a shit best friend, and that’ll break his heart even more. It’s not really that Jos doesn’t _know_ what to do, he’s just worried about the effects of _doing_ it.

But there’s never been a day where the keeper has been content to simply sit there and watch the sunshine of his life be broken and disappointed. Not when Joe’s lost matches. Not when Cooky retired. Not when he was dropped from the T20 squad. And not when Joe came back from the first Ashes series utterly _dismayed._ His body simply will not allow him to do it.

Tentatively, he walks toward the couch and drops to his knees beside the younger blonde. “J-Joey? Can I please touch you? It’s okay if you’d rather I didn’t, I just want to give you a hug-”

A soft broken sob resounds through the room, and Jos would be lying if he said it didn’t absolutely break him. Joe looks up from his curled-up spot on the sofa, and as he does, two deep red marks on his chest are disclosed. Jos tugs the shirt back to cover them, exceptionally cautiously, refusing to make contact with the younger’s skin before he’s been given permission. “Yes. Thank you for asking.”

Soft hands make contact with his, and Jos immediately strokes his thumb across the dainty wrist in a soothing motion. “Tell me? I’ll listen. I promise.”

“He was just using me to get closer to the ECB.”

“And when I told him that I didn’t want to have, you know, he said that he had no real use for me anymore. I just feel, used? Like, we were making out, and he just got really rough, and we didn’t really talk about it the way you and I used to talk about it and-”

There’s a soft sigh, as Joe looks up at the ceiling, closing his eyes, and Jos squeezes his hand tighter.

“Can- can I help?”

“I don’t think so Jossy. I just want to be alone.”

“Joey. Please. Let me help. I want to help,” Jos whispers quietly, as Joe lets go of his hand. 

Another emotionless sigh and Joe turns his face into the back of the sofa, and the keeper’s heart breaks for the second time.

Jos runs into his bedroom and pulls the duvet off his bed and bolts back to the living room, spreading the quilt over the floor over the rug. The younger doesn’t even flinch, or move, or turn around. The keeper’s eyes soften, as he watches Joe curl in on himself even tighter.

Before he can deny himself, or tell himself to just leave Joe alone like he was asked to, he puts an arm under the younger blonde’s knees and his back, lifting him up and then kneeling down to place him at the edge of the blanket. “Come on, love.”

“What are you doing?” Joe asks, voice soft and almost inaudible in the silence of the room. The keeper slowly rolls the younger into the blanket.

“You’re sad, so I’m making you into a burrito,” Jos says, as though it’s the most normal thing in the world. Joe raises an eyebrow, and wonders if maybe Jos has hit his head, but doesn’t say anything as the keeper picks him up again, and deposits him carefully into his favourite spot on the couch. Joe looks up at his best friend with wide eyes. “I’m not going to let you be sad on your own.”

Briefly, Jos considers kissing Joe’s forehead as he always does, but he doubts that is appropriate right now. Instead, he picks up the remote and settles down next to his burrito roll. “What d’you feel like Joey?”

The younger only creases his eyebrows and shakes his head. Jos brushes a finger under the boy’s jaw and starts listing off some names. “The Notebook?” Joe glares, and Jos makes a sheepish expression. “Okay, understandable. Uh, Marvel? Disney? We could watch some of your old matches actually. I love seeing you play.”

And when Joe smiles at that, Jos has to stop himself from crushing Joe into his arms and squeezing the life out of him, a) because that’s just a reflexive instinct and b) because that smile was _everything,_ and the older blonde wants to keep it around.

“Your maiden Ashes ton? 254 against Pakistan? 190 versus South Africa?” Joe hasn’t really taken to anything yet, but Jos will not be deterred. “How about our match against New Zealand?” he asks, eyes shining cheekily.

“Our hundreds in the same match?” Joe perks up, sparkles in his eyes and Jos is going to die on the spot, but honestly, he’ll take it, there’s no better way to go.

“Sounds like we have a taker.” Joe ducks his face under the blanket, as though he’s trying to hide his grin. Jos has words about that, but he bites his tongue. “I have it recorded, I’ll get it up- but first! Snacks.” This time, the keeper can’t really help himself, and he softly kisses the crown of Joe’s head, mumbling a soft “I’ll be back in a moment love.”

“Mkay Jossy.” And then a little softer. “Be quick?”

“Of course.” Jos bursts into the kitchen on autopilot, picking up enough food to feed an army. Some strawberry laces (which he always has in stock just for his best friend), a fuckton of chocolate, some water, a tub of ice cream and two massive bowls. Both of which he fills up with packets and containers of every topping he can find- marshmallows, caramel sauce, strawberry clouds, chocolate chips, nuts and strawberry syrup. “Think this’ll do?” He asks as he walks into the kitchen, balancing everything in his arms and on his wrists, before very carefully placing everything down onto the coffee table, and pulling it toward the sofa.

Immediately, he’s drawn to Joe’s face (still half-hidden behind a blanket), as the younger’s eyes widen, and then train on the plethora of food he’s brought.

Just momentarily, the keeper considers sitting on the armchair beside the sofa, rather than with Joe, unsure if his presence is desired so… _close._

He takes a step toward the chair, but Joe’s managed to get a hand free and has wrapped it around his wrist loosely. “Where are you going?”

“Just to-”

“No.”

The corner of Jos’ mouth twitches upward ever so slightly, and he climbs onto the couch, sitting on the opposite end.

“Could you come closer?”

“Are you sure, Joey? I don’t want to seem like-”

“Closer Jos. Please?”

“O-of course. Yes. Anything you want.” Jos shuffles closer, pressed from shoulder to thigh against Joe, but the younger still seems unhappy with this. The keeper returns to his original spot immediately. Joe creases an eyebrow, before hopping a little way over, and then placing his head in Jos’ lap. “Oh.”

Joe nudges his face against the keeper’s abdomen, before turning to face the TV. Jos rests a hand in the younger’s hair, as they both wince at Jase being dismissed for a first-ball duck.

Every now and then, Jos will lean over to pick up some food, and feed the burrito laying in his lap (and himself, but that’s not really his priority right now).

When Joe tries to sit up, Jos frowns unhappily, before slowly bringing the younger upright, “everything okay?”

“Yeah. Yes. Completely.”

Jos suppresses a knowing expression, and tugs Joe into his arms, turning the younger’s face into his neck, wanting nothing more but to kiss him and tell him it’ll be okay. “It’s okay, you’re allowed to be upset. You don’t have to consistently be the cool-headed captain Joe, not with me.”

On-screen, Joe’s just started to make headway, boundaries coming off his bat in spades, and Jos can’t help but smile.

“You look so gorgeous when you bat, you know that?” He can feel the hiccupped laugh against his neck and breathes out a sigh of relief. “You do! Look at you go, I was just sitting up there on the balcony waiting to go out to bat, and I just remember thinking, as soon as you went out and faced that first ball, that it was your day.”

“Says the one who outscored me.”

“I only score well when you score well Joey, it’s just fact.”

“That’s actually true,” Joe agrees, as he settles back into his lap. “Like that horror match against Pakistan.”

“We still ended up scoring hundreds together. God Joey that was a beautiful shot.”

“We’re connected. It’s fated. Every time I watch this dismissal, I get mad at myself. Could I not have just driven that ball.”

“You played brilliantly, you have absolutely no reason to be mad. 104, what beautiful batting.”

“That was still a horrific dismissal,” Joe grins. And suddenly the younger blonde is laughing at himself, and Jos has genuinely never appreciated the sound so much in his life. Not that he’s ever taken it for granted, because Joe always sounds like heaven, whether he’s throatily moaning for him, or giggling because of something Mark’s said, it’s like liquid gold. He’s lost in his thought until Joe utters;

“God how do you _hit_ like that. Absolute carnage.”

And Jos almost dies laughing because _what. “_ Did you just say _carnage. You’re_ adorable.”

Joe looks up at Jos with a grin and is met with fond eyes staring down at him affectionately. When Jos shifts his palm slightly, Joe immediately grips at his hand again, and the keeper amends his mistake. “I was just moving my hand to your hair, I didn’t mean to startle you, sweetheart.” Jos’ hand rests back in the sandy tufts, and Joe lets out a relieved sigh. Joe’s quiet until on-screen Jos is dismissed. As though he’s concentrating on the game, and not really thinking about anything else.

There are small comments here and there, about the look on McClenaghan’s face, and the exasperation of the poor bowlers. But the second Chris Jordan walks out, Joe’s looking at the keeper again. And Joe’s struck by just how fucking gorgeous Jos is.

Not just physically- because while the keeper is beautiful, that’s not all. But gorgeous in his _everything._ The way Jos carries himself. And how he’s so wonderfully kind-hearted. Soft-spoken and humble, but so undeniably talented.

It’s how he is the first to offer his help, whether it’s Mark asking for someone to keep for him while he practices yorkers and short balls, or whether Eoin needs someone to give him throwdowns, if Jonny needs someone to talk to on a particularly dark day, or if Chris simply needs a hug after a few spells.

And Joe could never go past how Jos is so tactile, and empathic, how without even speaking he seems to know what everyone’s thinking and feeling, picking up on the smallest cues like if Ben is biting the inside of his cheek, or Jof is clenching his jaw.

Mentioning how good Jos is in bed, is another thing Joe can’t _not_ do. Because the keeper is _perfect._ Consent and questions and checking in and loving and caring and cautious and so selfless. Joe knows and has known for a while, that he and Jos don’t really _fuck._ Because Jos never really leaves, and Joe always stays the night, and they fall asleep together, and Jos is there in the morning, making breakfast, while Joe bounces around beside him, making tea.

Mornings-after are Joe’s favourite part of sleeping with Jos, and that alone should’ve told him that this isn’t just _best friends_ a long, long time ago.

Jos is just beautiful. And Joe’s wondering how he’s never noticed it before, but now that he has, it’s all he can think about. How Jos’ heartbeat has always been uncharacteristically fast around him, and how Jos never stutters or trips over his words- bar the few occasions when he’s been around _him._

And all the times Jos has apologetically cancelled on his best friends, Jonny and Chris and Ben and Mark and Eoin and all of the people he loves so dearly, just to come and help Joe with something, or to spend time with him when he’s needed it.

Jos standing out on the balcony for every century he’s ever scored, or watching from home and messaging him about it in real-time, even if it’s in hours where the keeper should really be asleep.

How Jos is always fucking _there,_ and how Joe’s never really alone because he can turn to his right and fall into his arms, or pick up his phone and hear the keeper’s voice on the first ring.

God. How has Joe ever missed it?

“Jossy?” He asks in a scratchy voice.

“Yes honey?”

“Why are you doing this for me?”

“I’m your best friend, Joey. I’ll always do everything I can to see you smile. I hate seeing you upset, and-”

“And?” Joe’s sat up and shifted himself so that he’s eye to eye with the keeper.

Jos sighs. “I’m your best friend.”

“Is that it?” The younger blonde asks, placing a hand over the keeper’s heart, which is going a mile a minute. Jos only nods, closing his eyes and preparing for the moment when he’s called out. “I can feel your heart Jos. I know this isn’t you being my best friend. You didn’t sushi roll Jonny, or Jase, or Mark.” Jos tries to escape the situation, shifting to get up, but Joe straddles his thighs and frowns. “Jos? Please?”

“Okay. Okay.” The keeper sighs, covering Joe’s smaller hand with his own as he explains himself. “I’m your best friend, and I’m your go-to in bed. But sometimes I think about what it would be like to call you mine. I know that we were strictly friends with benefits, and we’ve been so close for so long, and I can’t really imagine my life without you. So no, that’s not it, and I know you don’t feel the same, but I suppose it was about time you knew- because I’ve loved you basically since the day I met you, and I know you don’t want to hear it, so I won’t say it, but you must already know how much-”

“Shut up.” Jos clamps his jaw shut, looking utterly broken, and Joe is having too many thoughts, and he can’t function because how have they never talked about this and how have they gone on like this for so long- “Can I please kiss you?”

“I don’t think that’s a-”

“Jos,” the younger pleads, hands framing the keeper’s jaw delicately, so he can look into Jos’ eyes, that are wide and carry a slight glistening, and when Jos nods, almost imperceptibly, Joe can’t help himself any longer and presses a chaste kiss to his mouth, sighing in relief. “You can finish your sentence now, I’m ready,” Joe says, swallowing, still holding his world between his hands.

“You must know how much I love you.” Jos breathes out, finally, and it’s like a pressure released.

“And if I tell you that I love you just as much?”

“I- You what-”

“I can’t believe you never told me. And I can’t believe I never noticed. But I looked up at you about ten minutes ago, and I’ve never been more in love in my entire life.”

And this is everything Jos has wanted to hear, but he can’t help but second guess himself. “Joe you’ve just been through a-”

“Don’t doubt me, Jos. Why do you think I’ve been sleeping in your bed the past few weeks, even though I’ve been in a relationship? Why do you think I refuse to leave your side? It’s always been you, I just never realised it until I ended up with someone who wasn’t you. I will never be able to love anyone the way I love you. I know what this is, and this is not best friends. Do you trust me?”

“I don’t think there’s been a day in my life when I haven’t, Joey.”

“God how did I never know,” Joe smiles, and Jos mirrors it before the younger pulls him closer for another affirming press of lips.

Jos breaks away with a soft chuckle, and Joe grins at him. “What is it?”

“I can’t wait to tell Moggy.”

“He knows?”

“Joey, my love, everyone knew but you.”

“I-”

“He called you an idiot. And then I got mad at him. And then he called me an idiot. I think I’ve driven him mad, he deserves to be put out of his misery.”

“Defending my honour, were you? God, you _are_ an idiot. Even while I was out with another and-” Jos’ eyes flash, and Joe raises his eyebrows. “ _Oh.”_

“Is first-date sex off the cards for you?”

The younger blonde grins cheekily. “With you? God, no.”

“Good. Cause this is your last first date _ever.”_

“Somehow, I don’t have an issue with this,” the younger pokes his tongue out, and shrieks happily as Jos stands, with him in his arms, walking into the bedroom and laying him down on the bed.

Jos eyes him appreciatively and says, “maybe I should send your ex flowers…”

Joe rolls his eyes. “Or you could buy me flowers…”

“Whatever you want, Joey, I’ll do everything to keep you happy.”

“Dear _God_ _,_ how did I never notice.”

“Ben and Morgs say it’s because you have no eyes.”

“Shut up and kiss me Jos.”

“Yes please.”

-


End file.
